Various types of lamps, or bulbs, have existed for use in automotive vehicles and the like. For many years those bulbs were of the traditional construction wherein base portions, such as screw or bayonet bases, were provided forming the support base for the filament wires and supports therefor. More recently, baseless cartridge bulbs were developed because of the relatively greater expense to manufacture base portions of the more traditional types of bulbs. The baseless cartridge bulbs have afforded various advantages, including a reduction in the manufacturing costs, increased resistance to vibration, and the opportunity to use reduced voltage levels to supply the filament.
In providing a mounting arrangement and electrical connection for baseless cartridge bulbs, it has been known to provide a supporting structure for the bulb and separate electrical connections to the bulb leads, as depicted in U.S. Pat. No. 4,437,145 to Roller et al. In another arrangement for supporting and electrically connecting a baseless cartridge bulb, the electrical connections with the filament leads may comprise at least part of the structure for supporting the bulb, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,360,861 to Fitzgerald. In the former arrangement, separate provision must be made for mounting the bulb and for providing the electrical connections. In the latter arrangement, the electrical connections with the filaments leads, because of their additional role as a support for the bulb, typically place the filament leads either in tension or compression. This latter characteristic may be viewed as undesirable since it may contribute to a deterioration of the glass-to-metal seal between the bulb envelope and the filament leads.